Process of making chlorhydrins.



K. P. McELROY. PHocEsSOF MAKING cHLoRHYDRlNs.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8| 1917- Patented Feb.' 25, 1919.

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freni" KARL'P. MCELROY, 0F WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR T0 CHEMICAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION F MAINE.

PROCESS 0F lllllAK'INCarf CHLOEHYDEINS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 25, 191.9.

Application led February 8` 1917. Serial No. 17473465.

To all lwhom z't may conce/m Be it known that I, KARL P. MCELRoY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Chlorhydrins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to processes of making chlorhydrins; and it comprises a method of producing chlorhydrins of the olefins wherein a gaseous or vaporous olefin, or a gaseous mixture comprising such an olefin, is subjected to the action of chlorinand water vapor in a vertical, towerlike reaction chamber of the general nature vofthe structures commonly used as column stills or fractionating devices, said olefin or the mixture comprising it being introduced at or near the base of the tower, chlorinl being introduced at one or-more points (best at a plurality of points) thereabove and vapors being withdrawn from the top of the tower and sent through a suitable condenser to regain the chlorhydrins produced: all as more lfully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

The gaseous olefins, (ethylene, propylene and the butylenes) are well known substances of the-general formula CnHgu. In the pure state they are only made by rela-- tively diiicult chemical processes from relatively expensive materials. Ethylene may be produced by' catalytically hydrogenating acetylene or by breaking up alcohol with hot sulfuric or phosphoric acid. Mixtures of these gaseous olefins can however be readily and cheaply prepared by exposing va-z. vrious organlc materials, such as petroleum oils, to heat; and it is such mixtures that I particularly contemplate using -in the presentinvention.

The chlorhydrins ofthe gaseous olefins are thin mobile liquids of pleasant odor, more or less soluble in water but separating from their water solution on addition of various soluble salts. When dry and pure they have a boiling point higher than that of water but in the presence of water their boiling point is below 100 C.:a fact which is utilized in the present invention. Chemically considered, they are chlorinated alcohols;` ethylene chlorhydrin, for example, being.(ILCl.(fll; ,(`)H,V while ethyl alcohol is (lH'.('l-I2()H. Being alcoholic in their na.- tm'e and also chlorin compounds. the)v are excellent solvents for varnish making and.-

man v other purposes; being, for example, f

padsetc. By converting the chlorhydrinsA into the corresponding acetates, formates, butyrates, benzoates, etc., by ordinary esterlmaking methods, a wide variety of solvent materials may be prepared. By reduction the chlorhydrins give the corresponding alcohols.

The chlorhydrins of the gaseous oleins .all have about the same boiling points, the

range being between 125 and 135 C.; and the mixture of chlorhydrins made by treating the mixture of gaseous olefms of oil gas by the present method is, for commercial purposes, al unitary7 material. It may of course be separated into the individual chlorhydrins by appropriate methods; but

generally this is not worthwhile.

Chlorhydrins are producedwhen the gaseous olefins and chlorin meet in the presence of an ample amount of water or water vapor (steam). The exact nature of the actions taking place is a matter of theory; but the final result may be indicated by the general equations CnHgn-l-I-IZO-I-Clg:CH,OHCl-l-HC1 It will be noted that half the chlorin reappears as HCl (hydrochloric acid) and half as chlorhydrin. Whether successive reactions take place to give the final result, or. whether three different molecules simultaneously react together -is a matter of theoretical speculation. I content myself with noting the facts. With a diminution in the amount of Water or water vapor present in the sphere of reaction, there is a tendency for another and competitive reaction to takeI place: the. formation of what are known as olefin chlorids. Ethylene for example, re-

acts with chlorin to give ethylene chlorid ((vglL-lg); a substance well known as ,"Dutch liquid. Propylene and the butylenes act similarly to give similar products,

which will be hereinafter referred to under the same name. The olefin chlorids are heavy liquids insoluble in water, and though not now made commercially,- are of value as solvents. It is an object of the present invention to provide conditions favoring the production of chlorhydrins at the expense of the Dutch liquid.

As a general rule, it may be said that the greater the amount of water (or water va* por) present in the sphere of reaction relaive to the amounts of chlorin and of olefin the less is the tendency to the production of olefin chlorids (Dutch liquid) and the greater the tendency to produce chlorhydrins, and vice versa. Curiously enough, however, the presence of some water or moisture (although a vanishingly small amount suffices) is also practically necessary in converting the olefins into Dutch liquid, perfectly dry olefins `not reacting with dry chlorin to give veither of the products here in consideration.` It may well be that the production of chlorhydrins is primary and the production of chlorids secondary; the HCl formed in the chlorhydrin reaction reacting on the chlorhydrin to form the chlorid. But this is a matter of theory. It is however certain that the more HCl is present in the sphere of reaction the greater is the tendency to the production of Dutch liquid. It is therefore necessary in practice to keep the concentration of I-ICl low in the reaction zone. This may be accomplished by simply washing the I-ICl out of the reacting gases and `vapors with water. An excess of olefins should always be present to prevent substitutive reactions by the chlorin.

In another and copending application Serial No. 34,678, tiled June 17. 1915. I have described and claimed a. method of making chlorhydrins utilizing the described facts wherein olefins and chlorin are blown into a steam-filled chamber containing a body of water to absorb the HC1 produced; such chamber being maintained at about 100 C. Oil gas is described as a suitable source of olefins. Vapors of chlorhydrins, the excess of waste gases and the water vapor are led from the reaction chamber to a condenser through, a reflux arrangement which con- -denses and returns the excess of water to the hot chamber.

In the present embodiment of my invention I perform the reaction in a vertical reaction chamber. of tower-like construction, passing in the various gases atV or near the bottom and 'removing produced vapors at. the top. The gases and vapors'pass upward against a downflowing current of hot water whichfurnishes' the water vapor necessary Yfor-'dilution and reaction and also serves as a scrubbing means to remove HC1.l At the bottom, a solution of HCl is removed. The reaction chamber may be any of the ordinary types of tower used in' the chemical industries for absorption ofv gases and promotion of gas reactions and is best provided with a filling orl packing adapted to promote intimate contact between liquids and gases, such as those used in the varioustypes of Gay- Lussac and Glover towers, or reaction towers in the sulfuric acid industry; It may be filled with broken brick or stone; but I nd it better to use perforated cross-shelves of well known types as giving a more positive contact and a better mixing operation. The types of shelves used in Icolumn stills, dephlegmators and similar fractionating devices are well adapted. The tower may be built of stoneware or stone, or any other material resistant to chlorin and HC1. Metal, if used, must be well coated with aresistyant varnish such as the phenol-formaldehyde condensation products. I nd a construction well adapted for the present purposes is' afforded by building a square or hexagonal tower of slate, such as is used for roofing, bound by iron tie rds or inclosed in reinforced concrete. Joints may be packed with asbestos mixed with one of the stated condensation products. Or a packing material of asbestos mixed with water glass may be applied, allowed to dry ,in place and Ithen treated with saturated solution of salt.

Thev top of the tower is connected to a suitable condenser andl means for heating are supp-lied at or near the bottom. In use it is. like a column still, kept somewhat hotter at the bottom than at the top, for reasons later appearing. All the heat may be supplied by blowing in steam or by an external heating jacket; but in practice I find it better toA use both heating means.

In the accompanying illustration I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, one typeof apparatus adapted for use in the described process. This showing is in vertical section,rcertain 'parts being shown in elevation, of a complete rectifier apparatus. In the showingthe column is made of slate slabs or sheets 1 nested together and held in position by encircling tie rods 2 and vertical rods 3. A la er of concrete 4 may inclose these reinforcing metal rods. The joints between the slate strips or slabs are packed as described. In the interior of the column it is provided with a number of perforated pllates or shelves 5 spanning the column.

ach such shelf is provided with drain pipe 6, which may be .of glass, going down into cup 7 on the subjacent shelf: the whole being a well known construction in the distilling art. The bottom of the column is shown as inclosed in a concrete housing S provided with drip 9'; this housing forming a steam chamber. .At a Apoint above the bottom' is gas inlet '10 through which oil gas 1 ,285,339 ict:

or other material composed ofjor comprising gaseous or vaporous olefns 1s introduced. Introductlon may be by steam 1njector 11. Chlorin main 12 is provided with i a number of outlets -13-13a13b, etc., leading into the column between the shelves, as many vof these inlets heilig used as may be desired. Each inlet is valved so as to permit independence in working. In each chlorin inlet is a steam in] ector (respectively 14..-1411) in valved communication with steam main 15. A branch of this steam main leads into the heating casing at the bottom of the column. At its top the column is provided S with thermometer 16 and vapor outlet 17 leading to condensing worm 18, which may be of stoneware or the like, in tub 19. Condensed liquidand gases from this condenser are led into receiving tank 20 provided with\ liquid outlet 21 and gas outlet 22. At the base of the column is an outlet 23 for hydrochloric acid.

The use of this structure is obvious from the foregoing. The oil gas or other olefiny rich material led in through is thoroughly admixed with steam and the mixture passes through the hot liquid on the shelf giving a thoroughly mixed body of water vapor and gas. With level plates and uniform liquid f height passage of gas will be substantially f uniform through the holes giving a uniform bubbling effect. With` small perforations liquid does not pass downward through the '1 holes. The gas-steam mixture meets a certain portion of chlorin and steam coming '1 in from 13. The new mixture thus made is .1 made intimate and perfect' in going through the holes and liquid of the next plate above;

. and is also lwell scrubbed. The mixture now A passes through the liquid on the shelf above j: in the same way and so on up through the column. Chlorin may be added at asmany points as may be desired. Steam is le'd into 'r the housing 8 and serves to maintain the bottom of the column at a relatively high tempe-rature. The downiowing liquid passes -from plate to plate until it reaches the three "l lowermost shelves. As will be noted these shelves are below the oint where gas is introduced. Their function is to concentrate hydrochloric acid more or less and deliver a relatively rich acid at 23 while still fur- 1 admixture with the gases coming in through 10. The apparatus is so run that the therj mometer 16 indicates a temperature between 95 and 100o the particular temperature used varying somewhat with the results desired as hereinafter set forth. The chlorhydrins L of oil gas are all volatile .with steam at a temperature of 95 to 97 ,and ass forward t.' while the excess of steam itsel is condensed r and runs downward. There is a steady current of liquid passing froml shelf to shelf nishing a comparatively sweet steam yforfrom the top of the apparatus tothe vbottorn, scrubbing the mixture of gases and vapors as it4 goes and serving to keep the zone of reaction between each pair of shelves substantially free of HC1. The HC1 is removed substantially as rapidly as it forms. In making chlorhydrins I find it desirable to have introduction of chlorin ata number of points as described and claimed in my acknowledged copending application No. 34,678.

The apparatus may be used for making Dutch liquid in, lieu of chlorhydrins, but when so used it is desirable to introduce more of the chlorin at the lower points to have mixtures Yrich in chlorin and to keep the top of the apparatus warm so as to diminish the amount of downflowing water.v rlhe greater the amount of water and water vapor the less is the tendency to the formation of Dutch liquid and vice versa. The apparatus should be run nearly dry to give a good yield of Dutch liquid. When so run it is well adapted for this purpose. Of the oleins in oil gas the propylene and the butylene readily unite with chlorin to give the corresponding chlorids but ethylene is so little reactive that it does not combine in many ordinary ways of bringing chlorin and oil gas together. In the described apparatus this union, however, may be effected.

If the apparatus isy So run as to make chlorhydrins the liquid condensing in will be a watery solution. It is advisable, in this modification of my invention, to run over enough water vapor to give this solution. With less water vapor the chlorhydrins will separate as such, that is as an oily layer but since their.vaportension is quite large the issuing gases may have to be scrubbed with water. For this reason I here prefer to have enough condensing water to wash out all the chlorhydrins. The amount of water may be regulated by controlo-f the temperature at the top of the column. As this temperature will be the resultant of radiation from the sides of the column and the heat applied at the base as well as that introduced with the steam, more water may i be sent over by jacketing or otherwise heat insulating thetop of the column lor by runningl more 'steam' into the housing at the .bot-

tom. Iftheapparatus is being run to vmake Dutch liquid, the temperature at the top of the column will usually be rather low since Dutch liquid and water make a very low, boilingy mixture. Where Dutch liquid yand chlorhydrins are both being produced the temperature at the top of the column may be considerably below ,95 with advantage as chlorhydrins, Dutch liquid andI water make a triple mixture of low boiling point. .v

The watery lsolu-tion of chlorhydrin o'btained in 20 may be distilled in any suitable apparatus to recover the chlorhydrins; the apparatus just described will serve for this purpose, being now used as a rectifying column. In so using it, the watery solution may be introduced through inlet l0 and the i liquid boiling ibetween 125o and 135o C.

The salt solution formed may be blown out with steam to regain dissolved chlorhydrins. Where Dutch liquid is formed it is simply removed from the watery solutionl and washed to recover dissolved chlorhydrins, if any. The chlorhydrins recovered may be converted into glycols by boiling under pressure with calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate or other materials. They may be converted into acetates by suitable treatment with calcium acetate. The chlorhydrins may also be converted into a Wide variety of other esters in several ways. On treatment of the chlorhy-drins with caustic soda they are broken up into the so-called olefin oxid, highly volatile bodies which may be fractionated to give pure products.v

These oxids, ethylene oxid for example, on treatment with hydrochloric acid, give pure chlo-rhydrins. On treating with chilled nitric acid they give nitrates. They may be converted into pure glycols by hydrolysis with weak sulfuric acid.

Theoleins introduced at 10 may be made in lany well known way. As stated ante I regard oil gas as a particularly suitable material for my purposes. Such oil gas may be made by running gas oil, kerosene, petroleum residuum, etc., into a heated tube with a portion of it main-tained around a red heat. The oils in passing the superheated portion of the 4tube are gasied, yielding a gas rich in olens. With proper manipulation, this vgas may run 50 per cent. of olefins (total bromin absorption). I iind it best to run the apparatus so that more oil goes through the gasifying zone than is gasilied. On now quickly cooling the gas the vapors of the excess oil condense as a fog and effectually scrub the gas of gasolene and the like. Gas of greater richness than 50 per cent. may be made but in this event there is danger of scorching with production of aromatic derivatives; and bodies like benzol are undesirable in the present embodiment of my invention. The excess of oil may be returned to the gasifying zone together with fresh oil. The gas may be scrubbed to free it of sulfur` etc., in any of the well known wa s.

il gas made in other ways may 'be employed; `but the described method gives a satisfactory material for the present purposes.- Gasification Qunder reduced pressure and gasification in the presence of waste gases coming from the chlorhydrin manufacture are expediente which may be used.

with advantage, singly or together. Other gases rich in oleins such as gas `made by coking coal at low temperatures, vmay be employed, as may the Ipure gaseous oleins themselves. Instead of using the oleins normally gaseous at atmospheric temperatures,

vapors of liquid olens may be used; as by blowing in vapors of ordinary cracked gasolene. Cracked gasolenes are rich in volatile liquid oleins; and these oleins submitted to the present treatment give chlorhydrins analogous to those obtained from the gaseous olens.

Whatever the gases or vapors used, it is best to introduce a little more than is equivalent to the chlorin employed, as this conduces to regularity of laction and prevents undesired side reactions, such as substitution. With an oil gas showing a 50 per cent. bromin absorption, the apparatus may f be so run as to give waste gases of, say, 3 to 5 per cent., representing, say, 97 to 94 per cent. utilization. For the same reason it is desirable to add the chlorin Iportionwise as shown.

The waste gas escaping beyond the condenser in using oil gas is of high caloriic value. While it may be reheated to v700o C. or thereabout to give a further portion of olefins, it is ordinarily more economical to use it for heatingor power purposesfI The hydrochloric acid solution draining oftI from the `bottom of the apparatus may be used to produce chlorinl with manganese binoxid, by the Deacon process, etc.; or it may be used in lieu of make-up water in dissolving salt for replenishing electrolytic cells producing chlorin.

I find that -perforated shelves, such as those shown, or the like devices used in dephlegmators, are better in the present operation than irregular fillings such as those given by broken stone. This is for the reason that their mixing action is much more positive. Steam, oil gas, chlorin and the chlorhydrins are materials of very different specific gravity and there is the usual ditliculty in securing accurate and uniform mixture. Stratification with such a mixture is difficult to avoid. But with the perforated shelves and like devices there is a positive mixing action in going' from one section of the apparatus to the next, whereas with an ordinary filling of any type, such as broken stone, there are apt to be channeling phenomena; there is not a positive admuch contributes to actual and positive mixture. With the shelves shown, -all the gases in passing from the space between one pair of plates to the next space above must go through the holes in the plate and in practice it is found that the gases go very uniformly through each of the holes. This mixing.

In using the structure of the present device for making Dutch liquid from oil gas, that is the mixed dichlorids of the mixed gaseous o'lens, it is better to have a descending flow of water since although this usually leads to the formation of more or less chlorhydrin yet in its absence union is not ready nor complete and side reactions may take place. It is' still better to use instead of water a solution ,of hydrochloric acid which may be formed in the apparatus V(from some preliminary chlorhydrin formation) or may come from another source. If the liquid' flowing down through the tower be kept fairly rich in HCl, the formation of chlorhydrin may be precluded and the tower will then deliverthe olein chlorids with a` high'utilization `both of .chlorin land of gas. The ethylene, as well as the propylene and the butylenes, is chlorinated. As previouslyl noted, it is dicult to chlorinate the ethylene of oil gas to form ethylene chlorid. What I claim is -l. The process of making chlorinate 'bodies from gaseous olefins which comprises passing such oleiins in admixture with chlorin upward throlgh a heated vertical tower against a descending current of aqueous liquid at or near the rboiling point.

2. The process of making chlorinated bodies vfrom gaseous olens which comprises passing such olens in admixture with chlorin upward through a heated vertical tower against a descending current of aqueousliquid at or near the boiling point and through a' succession of perforated platesspanning such tower.

3. The process of making chlorhydrins from gaseous oleinswhich comprises passing such olens in admixture with chlorin upward near the boiling point, the flow of water being sufiiciently copious to maintain the gasesl substantially free of HC1.

4. The process'of making chlorhydrinslfrom gaseous olefins which comprises passing such'olens in admixtureA with chlorin upward through a heated vertical tower spanned by asuccesison of perforated plates against a descending current of water at or ward through a heated vertical tower against through a .hea-ted vertical tower' against a descending'current of water at or a descendingv current of aqueous liquid at' or near the bolling point. y

6. The process of making chlorinated bodies from oil gas whichv comprises passing such oil gas in admixture with chlorin upward through a heated vertical tower against a descending current'of aqueous liquid at or near the boiling point and through a succession of perforated plates spanning such tower.

7 The process of making chlorhydrins from oil gas which comprises passing such oil gas in admixture with chlorin upward through a lheated vertical tower against a descending current of water at 0r near the -boiling point, the flow of water being sulficiently copious to maintain the gases substantially free of HC1.

8. The process of making chlorhydrin A85 from oil gas-which comprises passing such oil gas in admixture with chlorin upward through a heated vertical tower spanned by a succession of perforated plates against a descending current of water at or near the boiling point covering such plates and owing downward from plate to plate.

9. The process of making chlorhydrins which comprises passing a mixture of oil gas and chlorin upward through an appachlorhydrins from the top of the structure,

removing water containing HC1 from the bottom of the structure and refractionating A such water to obtain a more concentrated acid, the water vaporv separated in such fractionation being returned to the apparatus.

l1. The process v of making chlorinated bodies from oil gas which comprises passing oil gas and chlorin upward through a heated column and through a series of spaced layers of hot aqueous liquid and condensing the vapors formed. v

12.,The process of making chlorhydrins from oil gas which comprises passing voil gas andchlorin upward through a heated column and throu h -aseries of spaced layers of. aqueous liquld, said liquid` owing from layer to layer at a sufficient rate to maintain low concentration of'HCl therein and removingand condensing vapors from the top of the column. l v

13; The process of making chlorhydrins from oil gas which comprises passing a curront of oil gas and steam upward through a hot vertical column against and in intimate contact with downward flowing liquid While introducing chlorin into such stream, and removing and condensing vapors from the top of the column.

14. The process of making chlorhydrins from oil gas which comprises passing a current of voil gus und steam upward through u hot vertical column against und in intimate 10 contact with downward flowing liquid while introducing chlorin into such stream at a plurality of points, and removing and condensing vapors from the top of the column.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature. 15

K. P. MCELROY. 

